Chapter 19: Water

On the mountain ridge, fruit trees were everywhere, so it was not a barren wasteland.

The people who went with Zhou Liming to find water all shook their heads and returned to the highway. Those who had walked this highway knew that walking forward for another half an hour would lead to a reservoir with dense villages beside it. By then, not only would water not be a problem, but food would not be an issue either.

However, Zhou Liming’s situation was different from theirs. There were more than a dozen children, and they were young. With every extra minute, the probability of an accident increased.

Seeing the others turn and leave, Zhou Liming did not hesitate anymore and started running wildly through the fruit trees. A distance that might take an ordinary person an hour took Zhou Liming only a few minutes. His modified body was already powerful, and with a latent strength hidden within, running was effortless for him.

Fruit trees rushed towards him and were left behind in the blink of an eye. This sensation of moving like the wind and lightning made Zhou Liming realize for the first time how lucky he was.

In terms of human running speed, even a world champion maintaining a sprint of 9.74 seconds per hundred meters for an hour would only cover nearly forty kilometers. But Zhou Liming’s speed left only a faint shadow as he ran, disappearing in an instant. His running speed had already broken through a hundred kilometers per hour.

Zhou Liming was extremely excited at this moment, like a child who had received a beloved toy, full of curiosity and constantly experimenting.

The thrill of the flashing speed was incredibly intense for Zhou Liming. Perhaps a tree would suddenly appear in front, or there would be a sharp turn on the path ahead… Due to his excessive speed, Zhou Liming’s brain could not keep up with his reactions at first. He often crashed into fruit trees awkwardly, and sometimes during turns, he would rush straight into the grass beside the road.

For the first few minutes, Zhou Liming was in misery. The impact force from running at over a hundred kilometers per hour covered his head in bumps, and his good set of clothes was snagged by thorns into strips of cloth.

After crossing seven or eight hilltops, he finally saw the azure blue water surface of the reservoir not far away. By this time, the dam of the reservoir was crowded with people who had come to drink. Having fled for most of the day, people were exhausted and hungry. However, there were no villages by the reservoir. After drinking water, people returned to the highway and continued towards Yuyao City.

When Zhou Liming came down from the mountain ridge, he looked a bit disheveled. His hair was covered with grass clippings, and his clothes appeared tattered.

Among the fleeing people, there were all kinds of disheveled states. Some, who were still in bed when the sudden change occurred, fled wearing only their underwear, comically sticking some leaves into the edges of their underwear. If not for their fair skin, one might have thought they were primitive people. Compared to them, Zhou Liming was nothing special. Most people fleeing from the mountains would have their clothes snagged.

By the reservoir, any items that could be used to hold water had already been taken by those who got there first, so where was the turn for Zhou Liming?

Zhou Liming did not feel very thirsty, but he still squeezed his way to the water’s edge. He scooped up some water and drank a few mouthfuls, then raised his head and looked around, hoping to find some containers to hold water. But there were no villages around the reservoir, and the only courtyard on the dam was crowded with people, so what could possibly be left?

Having no other choice, Zhou Liming ran towards the mountain ridge again. Once he avoided the crowd, he once again activated his running speed.

He remembered that in the fruit tree forests on the ridge, there were some houses used by caretakers to temporarily guard the orchards, and there should be containers that could hold water.

The row of houses on the ridge looked somewhat old. It was not the season for fruit to ripen yet, so they were empty inside. Zhou Liming pushed the door, but it was locked. He originally wanted to pull his hand back, but thinking of what was happening right now, did he still need to care about this? He exerted force with his hand, and the door made of wooden planks was forcefully pushed open by Zhou Liming.

There were no tools specifically for holding water inside, but Zhou Liming could not care about that much. He grabbed a container used for pollination and turned to run towards the reservoir.

After filling the water, Zhou Liming lifted it and rushed towards the ridge, then ran all the way back.

It was only when he saw the crowd on the highway down the mountain from a distance that Zhou Liming slowed his speed to that of an ordinary person running and ran down the mountain. In total, this took only a little over ten minutes. After such a wild run, Zhou Liming did not feel tired at all. Even the sweat on his body was caused by the fright from not controlling his speed well earlier.

“Dean, the water is here!”

Zhou Liming’s voice made Dean Zhou relax. He took the pollination container from Zhou Liming’s hand. Seeing Zhou Liming looking so disheveled, he revealed a smile and said, “Liming, thank you for your hard work.” Zhou Liming shook his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, simply smiled, and then sat on the grass under the shade of a tree.

After Dean Zhou let the children take turns drinking water, he poured some water for Little Hua and washed his face with cold water. Only then was it his turn and An Xiaowei’s turn to drink.

The people on the highway continued to move forward, with unprecedented low spirits. Everyone walked forward in confusion, not knowing what would happen next or if they could return to their homes. Faced with such a human disaster, how would the government handle it, and what measures were being taken now?

An Xiaowei did not speak the whole time. As a woman, what could she say in the face of this situation?

After resting for half an hour, needless to say, they knew they could not stop any longer. They had to keep moving forward; the further they were from the coastal area, the safer they would be.

Dean Zhou asked the children to stand up again and line up in a row. He instructed them, “Remember, stay close to one another. Do not run around. Do you understand?”

Amidst the children’s answers of “Understood,” Zhou Liming carried Little Hua on his back and said to An Xiaowei, “Let’s go!”

When it was getting close to dark, the children could barely walk anymore, and they finally arrived at Hemudu Town.

The arrival of the Fierce Beasts had only destroyed coastal cities first. Hemudu Town was only a dozen kilometers away from Zhe-B City and was still in a coastal area, so it was still in danger. However, the people who had walked all day were tired and hungry and really had no strength to walk further.

Some people in Hemudu Town had already left, while others continued to stay in the town.

After crossing the bridge at Chejiu Village, the bridgehead was brightly lit. On a temporarily built high platform, a loudspeaker kept repeating, “Please do not panic. The crisis is only temporary. The government will not give up on every citizen and will protect people’s lives and property. Please rest assured and trust the government.”

Zhou Liming was very familiar with this voice; it was one of the central big shots. It seemed that emergency measures had already reached the town level.

The Hemudu Town government had also temporarily set up a huge LCD screen on the bridgehead, which was scrolling with a notice that the town government had prepared food and drinking water.